The invention relates to electrical connectors having visual indicators for displaying a connection status, and in particular, to a pair of visual indicators which form a subassembly that can be installed in an electrical connector as a unit.
Electrical connectors having visual indicators are well-known. These connectors are typically mounted on a circuit board and are used for electrical connection between communication devices. The visual indicators are electrically connected to circuitry on the circuit board so as to indicate a particular electrical status condition such as the passage of a signal between communications devices. These visual indicators are typically light-emitting diodes (LED""s) each having a pair of leads, one anode and one cathode. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,685,737 and 5,876,240.
Multiple electrical connectors and their associated visual indicators are often arranged side-by-side in a multi-port housing. The visual indicators take up significant space, thereby increasing the port-to-port centerline spacing compared with the spacing that would be required for a multi-port connector without visual indicators. Since it is desirable to minimize the size of electrical equipment, it is therefore desirable to reduce the size of multi-port electrical connectors by reducing the space between adjacent visual indicators, thereby reducing the centerline spacing between ports.
It is an object of the invention to provide a multi-port electrical connector having visual indicators in a compact package.
It is another object of the invention to minimize the space between adjacent visual indicators that can be used in an electrical connector.
These and other objects are facilitated by a lighting device comprising a pair of illuminating members that are arranged side-by-side, wherein the illuminating members have respective anodes, and a common cathode that is shared by the illuminating members.
According to one embodiment, the common cathode has the same cross-sectional shape as each of the anodes.
According to another embodiment, the common cathode includes a pair of individual cathodes that are soldered together.
The lighting device is mountable in an electrical connector housing. The side-by-side illuminating members are abutted together, thereby minimizing space requirements in the housing, and providing a compact electrical connector package.